BAPTIST LINKS TO THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT
By David R. Currie,
Coordinator

I recently received a call from a layman in Northeast Texas who is active with TBC. He told me the Religious Right had taken total control of the Republican Party at his precinct convention. He asked if I knew of any specific ties of Southern Baptist leaders and the Religious Right?

I did a small amount of research and discovered the following information.

The “New Right” movement was kicked off in the early 1970s by a group of conservative activists which included Paul Weyrich, Joseph Coors and Richard Viguerie, the direct-mail/fund-raising specialists, who first saw the potential of politically organizing church members from a variety of denominations around the abortion issue. Weyrick supposedly brought Jerry Falwell into the movement with the formation of the Moral Majority.

In 1973, Weyrich and Joseph Coors established the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, to develop public policy. Later, Weyrick established the Free Congress Foundation to promote the agenda. Weyrich is also the permanent Secretary and Treasurer of the Council for National Policy (CNP).

The CNP was started in 1981 by Tim LaHaye, T. Cullen Davis, and Nelson Bunker Hunt. Membership is by invitation only and dues are upwards of $1,500 a year. The CNP has been described as “a highly secretive coalition which represents the entire spectrum of New Right corporate executives, TV preachers, legislators, and former high-ranking government and military leaders. The Council for National Policy is considered the primary coordinating body—and funding conduit—for Christian Right projects.”

Prominent CNP members are: Ralph Reed, Jr., Executive Director, Christian Coalition; Pat Robertson, Founder, Christian Coalition; Phyllis Schlafly, The Eagle Forum; James Dobson, Focus on the Family; Oliver North; Bob Jones III; Jerry Falwell; Amway founder Rich DeVos; R. J. Rushdoony, Chalcedon, Inc. (part of the Reconstruction movement); Bill Bright, founder, Campus Crusade for Christ; Howard Phillips, chairman, The Conservative Caucas; Larry Pratt, Executive Director, Gun Owners of America; Texas GOP Chairman Tom Pauken; Texas GOP Congressman Steve Stockman and Dick Armey; and Judge Paul Pressler, who serves on the CNP Executive Committee. Ed Young, pastor, Second Baptist Church, Houston, was listed as a member in 1988.

The CNP always meets in secret and members are asked to avoid organizing and attending formal meetings of other groups or organizations in the same city before, during or immediately after a Council meeting.

The CNP has six permanent standing committees including one on Law and Justice co-chaired by former Attorney General Ed Meese and Paul Pressler.

It seems clear to me that are strong ties between Southern Baptist leaders and the Religious Right. Hopefully I will be able to research these matters more in depth in the future.

April 1996